Representative references disclosing dicationic or polycationic compounds, containing hydroxyl functionality, include Lewis et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,729), Matter et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,559), Evani et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,775), Hoppe et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,605) and Bachem et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,576). The compounds disclosed by these references are generally symmetrical in structure and have a plurality of secondary hydroxyl functions. The compounds are often not highly reactive, or selectively reactive, for example, with starch. Use of these compounds, for example, to prepare cationic starch, give products which are more or less highly cross-linked and which may be unacceptable for many utilities.
It is an object of this invention to provide novel dicationic or more-highly cationic monoprimary alcohols, which can be used to prepare highly cationized derivatives, for example, of starch, without presenting a problem of undesired cross-linking of the thus-treated starch.